CHAP 3-USING THE PRINTER. Epson LQ-510
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Chapter 3
Using the Printer
Operating the Control Panel ............................................ 3-2
Setting the DIP Switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Changing a DIP Switch Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
The DIP Switch Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The DIP Switch Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Page Length ......................................................................... 3-10
Skip Over Perforation .......................................................... 3-11
Adjusting the Loading Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12
The Loading Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using Micro-adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using Short Tear-off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adjusting the Tear-off Position. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15
Selecting Typestyles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Character Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Condensed Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Selecting an International Character Set ................................ 3-20
Choosing a Character Table ................................................. 3-22
Using the Data Dump Mode .................................................. 3-24
Using the Printer 3-1
Operating the Control Panel
The indicator lights give you the current status of the printer. The buttons and paper handling functions let you control many of the printer settings.
Lights
MULTI-PART (orange)
On when the paper thickness lever is set to position 4 or higher. When this light is blinking, the micro-adjustment
function can be used.
POWER (green)
On when the POWER switch is
on and power is supplied.
READY (green)
On when the printer is ready to accept input data. Flickers during printing.
PAPER OUT (red)
On when the printer is out of
paper or when continuous
paper is in the standby position.
ON LINE (green)
On when the printer is on line and ready to accept data.
3-2 Using the Printer
Buttons
ON LINE
This button controls the printer’s on line and off line status. Press this button to put the printer on line or to take it off line. When the printer is on line, the ON LINE light is on and the printer can receive and print data from the computer.
FORM FEED
When the printer is off line, press this button to eject a single sheet of paper or to advance continuous paper to the top of the next page.
LINE FEED
When the printer is off line, press this button to advance the paper one line, or hold it down to advance the paper continuously.
LOAD/EJECT
This button is used to feed paper to the loading position or to eject paper that is already loaded.
Paper is ejected forward if the paper release lever is set to the single-sheet position and backward (out of the paper path) if the release lever is set to the continuous paper position.
Using the Printer 3-3
Operating the Control Panel
SelecType
FONT
This button is used to select LQ
ROMAN, LQ SANS SERIF, DRAFT mode, or a cartridge font (if installed). The two orange indicator lights show the selected font. See Selecting Typestyles later in this chapter.
CONDENSED
This button is used to turn the condensed mode on and off. The orange indicator light is on when the printer is in the condensed mode. In the condensed mode, all characters are printed at approximately 60 percent of their normal width.
3-4 Using the Printer
Operating the Control Panel
Other control panel features
The control panel of your printer also gives you access to several special functions.
Self test: Both a draft and Letter Quality self test function are built into the printer. The self test printout lets you check the current DIP switch settings and operating status of the printer. You can start the printer’s self test by holding down the LINE
FEED button or the FORM FEED button while turning on the printer. See the section on the self test in Chapter 1 for more information.
Micro-adjustment: By pressing the FORM FEED button immediately after loading paper or when using short tear-off, you can make fine adjustments to the loading and short tear-off positions. These positions can only be adjusted while the MULTI-PART light is blinking. See the sections on adjusting the loading position and using the short tear-off function later in this chapter.
Data dump: By holding down both the LINE FEED and FORM
FEED buttons while you switch on the printer, you turn on the data dump mode. This feature allows advanced users to locate the source of communications problems between the computer and printer. See the section on using the data dump mode on page 3-24 for more information.
Using the Printer 3-5
Setting the DIP Switches
The LQ-510 has two sets of DIP (Dual Inline Package) switches located under a small cover above the control panel. By changing the settings of these switches, you can control various printer features, such as the character set and page length. The new settings become effective when the printer is turned on, reset, or initialized.
DIP switch settings are shown in the DIP switch tables starting on page 3-7. Descriptions of all the DIP switch functions begin on page 3-9.
Changing a DIP Switch Setting
To change a DIP switch setting, first turn off the printer. Then open the DIP switch cover and use a pointed object, such as a pen, to change the DIP switch settings. A DIP switch is on when it is up, and off when it is down.
The new DIP switch settings take effect when the printer is turned on.
3-6
Using the Printer
The DIP Switch Tables
The tables below show the settings for each DIP switch. The shaded areas show the default or factory settings.
DIP switch 1
SW Description
1-1 International character set
1-2
1-3
1-4 Font selection
1-5
1-6 Condensed mode on/off
1-7 Character table
1-8 Cut sheet feeder mode on/off
ON
See table 1
OFF
See table 2
Condensed
Graphics
On
Normal
Italics
Off
Page
3-20
3-8
3-19
3-22
5-2
DIP switch 2
SW Description
2-1 Page length
2-2 Tear-off mode
2-3 1 -inch skip over perforation
2-4 Auto line feed
2-5 Input buffer capacity
2-6 Graphics print direction
2-7 Character spacing
2-8
ON
12 inches
OFF
11 inches
On
On
On
8 K B
Off
Off
Off
1 KB*
Bidirect.
Unidirect.
See table 3 l
Required for use of user-defined (download) characters.
Page
3-10
3-9
3-11
3-9
3-9
3-9
3-8
Using the Printer 3-7
Setting the DIP Switches
Table 1 International character sets
Country
USA
France
Germany
UK
Denmark
Sweden
Italy
Spain
SW 1-1 SW 1-2 SW 1-3
ON ON ON
ON
ON OFF
ON OFF
ON
OFF
ON
OFF
OFF ON
ON
OFF ON OFF
OFF OFF
ON
OFF OFF OFF
Table 2 Font selection
Font
Roman
Sans Serif
Slot
Draft
SW 1-4 SW 1-5
OFF OFF
ON OFF
OFF ON
ON ON
Table 3 Character spacing
Spacing
10 cpi
12 cpi
15 cpi
Proportional
SW 2-7 SW 2-8
OFF OFF
ON OFF
OFF ON
ON ON cpi: characters per inch.
3-8 Using the Printer
Setting the DIP Switches
The DIP Switch Functions
Auto line feed
When auto line feed is on (DIP switch 2-4 on), each carriage return code (CR) is automatically followed by a line feed code (LF).
Input buffer capacity
The input buffer stores data from your computer. If you want to free your computer for other tasks while the printer prints, change the setting of switch 2-5 to 8 KB (on). Before using user-defined characters, however, be sure to set the input buffer to 1 KB (off).
Printing direction
With unidirectional printing, the print head prints in one direction only. This allows for precise vertical alignment, making it ideal for printing graphics such as lines and boxes. When DIP switch 2-6 is off, the printer prints unidirectionally; when it is on, the printer prints bidirectionally. Either setting can be overridden by a software command (ESC U). To achieve precise vertical alignment without the slower printing speed caused by unidirectional printing, see your authorized service dealer for adjustment of your bidirectional print settings.
Tear-off mode
When DIP switch 2-2 is on, the short tear-off mode is on. This feature automatically advances continuous paper to the tear-off position, and then reverse-feeds the paper to the loading position.
See the section on using short tear-off later in this chapter.
CAUTION: Do not use the short tear-off mode with labels.
Using the Printer 3-9
Page Length
When the setting of DIP switch 2-1 is off, the page length is set to
11 inches, or 27.94 cm. When it is on, the page length is 12 inches, or
30.48 cm. Be sure to set the page length to match the paper you are using.
Other page lengths can be set using the commands ESC C and
ESC C 0. See the Command Summary in Chapter 9 for details.
3-10 Using the Printer
Skip Over Perforation
By changing the setting of DIP switch 2-3, you can set skip over perforation to on or off. If this feature is on when using continuous paper, a one-inch margin is provided between the last printable line on one page and the first printable line on the next page. This feature is very convenient if your application program does not provide for top and bottom margins.
If you adjust your loading position correctly, you can get half of the margin at the bottom of one page and half at the top of the next page, as shown in the following illustration.
DIP switch 2-3 ON (Skip over perforation ON)
Note: Most application programs take care of top and bottom margins. Use skip over perforation only if your program does not provide these margins.
The skip over perforation setting can be set to values other than one inch by using the ESC N command. See the Command
Summary in Chapter 9 for details.
Using the Printer 3-11
Adjusting the Loading Position
The Loading Position
The loading position is the position of the paper when it has been automatically loaded by the printer.
This position is important because it determines where the printing begins on the page. If the printing is too high or too low on the page, change the loading position using the micro-adjustment feature described in the next section.
CAUTION: Never use the platen knob to feed paper except in case of a paper jam or other paper feeding problem. (If you need to use the platen knob, make sure the power is off.) If you need to adjust the loading position, always use the micro-adjustment feature.
Until the loading position is reset, the printer remembers this position even if it is turned off, and uses it as a reference point for feeding paper.
The micro-adjustment feature moves the paper in 1/180-inch increments to make fine adjustments to the loading position. Once you have used micro-adjustment to change the loading position of continuous paper, the printer remembers that position even after it is turned off.
However, when you use micro-adjustment to change the loading position of single-sheet paper, the printer does not remember this position after the power is turned off. When the power is turned back on, the loading position returns to its factory setting.
3-12 Using the Printer
Adjusting the Loading Position
Using Micro-adjustment
1. Make sure that the printer is turned on and that either a single sheet or continuous paper is ready to be loaded.
2. Press the LOAD/EJECT button to feed paper to the loading position. Then press the ON LINE button; the MULTI-PART light begins to blink.
MULTI-
PART
Note:
You can use the FORM FEED and LINE FEED buttons for micro-adjustment only while the MULTI-PART light is blinking.
3. Press the FORM FEED button to feed the paper forward or the
LINE FEED button to feed the paper backward.
Note: When the paper reaches the factory-set loading position, the printer beeps and micro-adjustment feeding pauses for a moment before continuing. You can use this factory setting as a reference point when adjusting the printer’s loading position. When the paper reaches either the minimum or maximum top margin, the printer beeps and the paper stops moving.
Using the Printer 3-13
Using Short Tear-Off
When you are finished printing, the short tear-off feature automatically feeds the perforation of the continuous paper to the tear-off edge of the printer cover so that you can tear off the last sheet. When you resume printing, the paper feeds backward to the loading position. This feature lets you save the paper normally lost between documents.
To use this feature, set DIP switch 2-2 to on. Then load continuous paper in the normal way.
You can leave the short tear-off feature turned on (DIP switch 2-2 on) even when you are using single sheets. When you move the paper release lever to the single-sheet position, the short tear-off feature is disabled.
WARNING:
Never use short tear-off with labels.
Otherwise, labels may come off their backing and jam the printer.
When you have finished printing, and if the perforation is at the top of form position, the printer automatically feeds the perforation of the continuous paper to the tear-off edge of the printer cover. You can then tear off the page using the tear-off edge as shown on the next page.
3-14
Using the Printer
Using Short Tear-Off
If the page perforation is not properly aligned with the tear-off edge, you can adjust the tear-off position using micro-adjustment, as described below.
Note: Short tear-off is not performed unless printing of a page is completed and the paper has advanced to the top of the next page. If the paper has not advanced to the top of the next page, press the ON LINE button to put the printer off line and press the
FORM FEED button to advance the paper. Then put the printer back on line and paper will feed to the tear-off position.
When you resume printing after tearing off the sheet, the paper automatically feeds backward to the loading position before printing begins.
Adjusting the Tear-off Position
If the paper’s perforation does not meet the tear-off edge, you can adjust the tear-off position using the micro-adjustment feature.
Using the Printer 3-15
Using Short Tear-Off
1. Make sure the printer feeds the paper to the tear-off position after printing the document.
2. The MULTI-PART light should begin blinking, indicating that you can now use the micro-adjustment feature to make fine adjustments to the tear-off position.
3. To make fine adjustments to the tear-off position, press the
FORM FEED button to feed the paper forward or the LINE FEED button to feed it backward.
You can now tear off your document from the perforation and resume printing. The printer remembers this new tear-off position even after the printer is turned off and on again.
3-16 Using the Printer
Selecting Typestyles
You can produce a wide range of typestyles by selecting different character fonts, widths, and other enhancements from the SelecType control panel or by using software commands. This section describes only the features controlled by SelecType. To use software commands, see the Command Summary in Chapter 9.
You can use the SelecType section of the control panel to choose fonts and condensed printing. Orange lights indicate which features you have chosen.
DRAFT
ROMAN
SANS SERIF
SLOT
FONT
Note: The settings you select using the SelecType panel remain valid until the printer is turned off or until it receives other instructions from software. However, some application programs are designed to control all typestyle functions. These programs cancel all previous typestyle settings by sending certain software commands before printing. Because these commands override
SelecType settings, you should use the program’s print options instead of SelecType to select your typestyles. If SelecType does not work with a particular application, check your software manual for instructions on selecting typestyles.
Using the Printer 3-17
Selecting Typestyles
Character Fonts
The LQ-510 printer has three built-in fonts:
DRAFT
ROMAN
SANS SERIF
The DRAFT mode uses fewer dots per character for high-speed printing, which makes it ideal for rough drafts and editing work.
ROMAN and SANS SERIF are Letter Quality (LQ) fonts. Letter Quality takes a little longer to print, but produces nicely formed characters suitable for most documentation requirements.
Other fonts are available on optional font cartridges. See Multi-Font
Module in Chapter 5.
3-18 Using the Printer
Selecting Typestyles
Condensed Mode
You can use the condensed mode to change the size of printed characters. In the condensed mode, characters are approximately
60 percent of the width of normal characters. Hence, condensed printing is very useful for spreadsheets and other applications where you need to print the maximum amount of information on a page. You can combine the condensed mode with 10 and 12 cpi printing, but not proportional and 15 cpi.
To select the condensed mode, simply press the CONDENSED button so that the orange indicator light comes on. To turn off the condensed mode, press the button again.
The following printout compares normal 10 and 12 cpi with condensed 10 and 12 cpi. The condensed 10 cpi is 17 cpi, and the condensed 12 cpi is 20 cpi.
This is 10 CPI printing.
This is condensed 10 CPI printing.
This
is
12 CPI printing.
This is condensed 12 CPI printing.
Using the Printer 3-19
Selecting an International Character Set
International character sets provide you with the characters and symbols used in other languages. You can select one of eight international character sets by changing the DIP switch settings.
Whenever the printer is turned on, reset, or initialized, the character set selected by the DIP switches becomes the default character set.
To select an international character set, set DIP switches 1-1, 1-2, and
1-3 according to the table below.
This table also shows the characters that differ in each international character set.
Country
0 U.S.A.
1 France
3 U.K.
4 Denmark
5 Sweden
6 Italy
7 Spain
ASCII code hex DIP SW
23 24 40 5B 5C 5D 5E 60 7B 7C 7D 7E 1-1 1-2 1-3
ON ON
ON
ON
ON
OFF
ON
OFF ON
ON
OFF OFF
OFF ON ON
OFF ON
OFF
OFF OFF ON
OFF OFF OFF
CAUTION:
To change the setting of a DIP switch, first turn off the printer, change the DIP switch setting, and then turn the printer back on.
3-20 Using the Printer
Selecting an International Character Set
In addition to the eight character sets shown above, the seven international character sets that follow can be selected with a software command: ESC R. For more information, see the
Command Summary in Chapter 9.
Country
ASCII code hex
23 24 40 5 B 5C 5D 5E 60 7 B 7C 7D 7E
8 Japan
9 Norway
10 Denmark II
11 Spain II
12 Latin America
13 Korea
64 Legal
Using the Printer 3-21
Choosing a Character Table
DIP switch 1-7 selects either the italic character table or the Epson
Extended Graphics character table. The Epson Extended Graphics character table contains international accented characters, Greek characters, mathematic symbols, and character graphics for printing lines, corners, and shaded areas.
If you have an IBM ® or IBM-compatible computer, select the Epson
Extended Graphics table when you wish to print character graphics as they are displayed on the screen. Even if you select Epson
Character Graphics, you can still print ordinary text and italics. For italics, see the description of the ESC 4 command in the Command
Summary, Chapter 9.
Note: In most cases, Epson Extended Graphics is the preferred selection.
Sample printouts of the italic characters and the Epson Extended
Graphics characters are shown below.
Italics
!"#$%&'()*+,-./0123456789:;<=>?@ABCDEFG
HIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmno pqrstuvwxyz{|}~
Epson Extended Graphics
3-22 Using the Printer
Choosing a Character Table
To select a character table, set DIP switch 1-7 according to the table below.
Character table
Italics
Graphics
DIP SW 1-7
OFF
ON
CAUTION: To change the setting of a DIP switch, first turn off the printer, change the DIP switch, and then turn the printer back on.
Tables showing which characters are printed in each of the character tables are listed in the Appendix.
Using the Printer 3-23
Using the Data Dump Mode
The data dump mode is a special feature that makes it easy for experienced users to identify the cause of communication problems between the printer and application programs. The data dump mode gives a printout of the codes reaching the printer.
To use the data dump mode, follow these steps:
1. Make sure that the printer is loaded with either single-sheet or continuous paper.
3-24 Using the Printer
Using the Data Dump Mode
2. If the printer is on, switch it off, then hold down the FORM FEED and LINE FEED buttons at the same time you turn on the printer.
3. Run any program that causes the printer to print (either an application program or one in any programming language).
Your printer prints out all the codes sent to the printer, as shown below. (In order to print the last line, you will have to take the printer off line.)
On the left side of the printout all the codes are printed in hexadecimal format. On the right side of the printout all printable characters are printed, and others, such as control codes, are represented by dots.
Using the Printer 3-25
Using the Data Dump Mode
4. To turn off the data dump mode after you have taken the printer off line, turn off the printer.
By comparing the characters printed in the text field on the right side of the data dump printout (see step 3) with the printout of hex codes, you can check which codes are being sent to the printer.
To interpret the data dump printout, examine the first three hex codes on the second line of the printout sample (20 20 54). Each hex code 20 represents a space; hex code 54 represents the letter T.
Check the second line of the text field on the right side of the printout and you will find the letter T preceded by two spaces.
The chart below interprets the first eight codes.
Hex codes
1B 40
1B 52 00
1B 74 01
Command
ESC
ESC R 0
ESC t 1
Function
Initialize printer
Select USA character set
Select Epson Extended Graphics set
3-26 Using the Printer
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